Buddhism - Buddhism in Chinese History (Arthur F. Wright)

What were the political, social and cultural conditions that permitted the spread of Buddhism in the Chinese World? On page 17-19, the author indicates that there were social and political changes occurring in China that opened the door to the spread of Buddhism. For example (17), in A.D. 27-ca. 97, Imperial Confucianism, "which seemed to serve so well the needs of the monarchy and the elite," carried with it "several weaknesses which ultimately proved fatal." One weakness was the fact that "analogical reasoning" had been pushed so far it attracted the "criticism of skeptics and naturalists and thus brought the whole highly articulated structure into doubt."

Meantime, the author explains that while Imperial Confucianism was under attack (Wang Ch'ung had initiated this "process of erosion" of Imperial Confucianism), so too was Han dynasty Confucianism, which gave citizens of China during that...
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